This week we are going to focus on verse 3, which tells us that Jesus was God’s “Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh”. We know that Jesus was the promise of salvation, who was spoken of by the prophets for centuries before arriving here on this earth, and we know that Jesus was 100% human and 100% divine – as these verses highlight, not to mention other places in the Bible such as John 1:1-18.

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The depths of this concept of Jesus being fully human, oftentimes gets glossed over. Again, if the most often overlooked thing in Christian theological study is the truth of who we are in Christ Jesus, then maybe, just maybe we should think deeply about the identity of Jesus as he lived his thirty-three years on this earth as a real flesh-and-blood-human.

The bottom line for me here is that I think, that if we study the life of Christ in the flesh more closely, we might find some nuggets of his identity as a human that will help to reshape the picture of who we are when we look in the mirror in every morning. We know that everything Christ is – apart from his divine nature – is ours by grace, through faith.

Christ’s full identity is ours. Once we come to Christ for salvation, he replaces our unrighteous identity with his own perfect identity, so that when the Father looks upon us, he sees the perfection of his one and only Son. So, with that said, let us begin looking at our three circles of context to get a picture of the identity of Christ as he lived his thirty-three years on this earth, and then we will try to summarize everything we learn and apply it to ourselves at the end.

#1: JESUS IN THE FLESH – ROMANS

Our first circle of context is in the book of Romans since that is where we are studying for the foreseeable future. We know that Paul describes Jesus as the fulfilled promise of the ages, and we also know that he describes him first as the Son of God – something we will come back to at the end of our study today.

But we also know, as we have already covered, that Paul describes him as the “Son… according to the flesh” (v. 3). What does Paul have in mind when he describes Jesus this way? There are a few other passages in Romans that I think are helpful.

In Romans 5:12 – 21, we read that “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned – for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift of the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

This means that in his humanity, Jesus experienced what it was like to carry out the mission of redemption and salvation – that we are all designed to carry out – but he also carried the unique pressure of being the only one in all of human existence who would carry that pressure perfectly and then he would also be the only one who would give his perfect life as the substitute for imperfect people so that his grace would lead to eternal life for those whom he saved. Maybe you can identify with how impossible it is to be perfect? Jesus did that for you!

In Romans 8:3, we learn that “God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh”. So, in the flesh, as a human, Jesus experienced what it feels like to not only resist sin perfectly, but he also experienced what it is like to walk among the sinful to become the sacrifice for their sin. I am sure you can identify with how hard it is to live among other sinful people while trying to walk in hominess? That is what Jesus did for you!

In Romans 8:29, we learn that, as far as God the Father is concerned, “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers”. So, Jesus, understands what it is like to be frontrunner or the mold that everyone else will be formed into; he knows what it is like to carry the responsibility of being the image everyone else was designed to be like. He knows the difficulty of bearing the weight of the responsibility of being the model citizen or the example or the older sibling that others should follow after. Maybe you know what it is like to carry the responsibility of being the model citizen or the example as an older sibling. This is what Jesus endured for you!

#2: JESUS IN THE FLESH – PAUL’S OTHER LETTERS

In our second circle of context, we spread the net a little wider and we begin to look for clues about Jesus’ identity as a real flesh-and-blood human who lived on this earth for thirty-three years, in the rest of Paul’s letters. We will begin by looking at the book of 1 Corinthians.

In 1 Corinthians 15:21 & 47, we learn that “as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead… the first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.” This means that Jesus, in his humanity, experienced the destruction of someone else’s sin on creation and he also experienced the emotional and physical wear and tear of fixing a problem that someone else created. I am sure you have dealt with the frustration of fixing the mess that someone else created right? Jesus did this perfectly!

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, we learn that “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. This means that in his humanity, Jesus experienced what it is like to carry the weight of other people’s burdens so that they could become the better version that God intended them to be, even though they did not deserve it. Have you ever carried the weight of someone else’s burdens so that they could become better? This is what Jesus did as he walked this earth as a real flesh-and-blood human!

In Galatians 4:4 – 5, we learn that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons”. Jesus’ experience of being human, of being in the flesh, means that he experienced having a human mother – whom I am certain was the talk of the town for becoming pregnant outside wedlock – and he also experienced what it is like to live under a set of rules that restricted his human desires. He had a human mother – rumored to be a loose lady – and he felt the restrictions of not being able to do whatever his little heart desired. You know what this is like right? To have people talking about your family and to be restricted on how you can or cannot respond to those rumors? Jesus experienced this very same thing?

In Philippians 2:6 – 8, we learn that even though Jesus “was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”. Jesus experienced what it means to be humbled or to learn how to live in humility; he lived every aspect of what it means to not think less of himself but to think of himself less. Have you experienced being humbled or needing to grow in humility? Jesus experienced the very same thing and he did it with perfection!

In Colossians 1:22, we learn that Jesus reconciled you and I “in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”. In his humanity, Jesus, experienced the full spectrum of emotional and physical pain associated with death; and not just any death, but death at the hands of and for (in some cases) those who put him to death. I imagine we have not experienced death at the hands of our enemies yet. But we have all been touched by the death of a loved one and we have certainly experienced the brutality of our enemies seeking to harm us. Jesus experienced all of this and more, and he did with impeccable character.

In Colossians 2:9, we learn about Christ’s dual nature – human + divine – when it says, “For him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”. Jesus’ human experience was also immersed with being fully God. Although he laid aside some of his abilities to serve us in the flesh, he still carried the weight of being the God who saves in the flesh. This is something we will never experience, but the fact remains that Jesus di experience this in the flesh – the weight of being God with self-imposed human limitations.

In 1 Timothy 2:5, we learn that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”. In his humanity, Jesus experienced the emotional and physical weight of mediating between two parties who were at war with one another. I am sure we have all experienced this, and Jesus did it without failure in instances where the average human would have cracked and caused further damage.

In 1 Timothy 3:16, we learn that Jesus “was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory”. In the flesh, Jesus experienced a kind of spotlight pressure that would have crushed the average sin-filled human. Can you imagine that kind of pressure? Ever experienced the pressure of the spotlight? Jesus did this and he nailed it perfectly!

#3: JESUS IN THE FLESH – THE REST OF THE BIBLE

With the first and second circles behind us, we turn our attention to the third circle of context where we examine the rest of the Bible to see what we can learn about Jesus’ experience of becoming one-hundred-percent human here on this earth. To begin, we going to look all the way back to the prophet Isaiah.

In Isaiah 53:3 – 5, we read that Jesus “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed”. This teaches us that Jesus experienced a full range of emotions in his lifetime – especially in his death at the cross; despised, rejected, full of sorrows, acquainted with grief, insignificance, stricken, smitten, afflicted, chastised, and wounded. Have you ever felt these things? Jesus was not immune to the full range of human emotions.

In Matthew’s Gospel we learn that Jesus experienced hunger after fasting, homelessness as he traveled from town to town, and deep sorrow the night before his death in the Garden of Gethsemane when he asked his disciples to stay with him and to keep watch (Matt. 4:2; 8:20; 26:38).

In Mark 15:34, we read Jesus’ words on the cross when he cried out “‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” I do not know about you, but I can feel the hurt and the pain and the utter aloneness of Jesus’ words in his final moments when he felt completely forsaken by everyone – even his Heavenly Father. You know the pain of this right?

In Luke’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus experienced the normal human experience of growing “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and Man” (Lk. 2:52). He also experienced being tempted by Satan with hunger attached to his identity, significance and power attached to worship, and again his identity attached to safety (Lk. 4:1 – 13). Let us not forget that Jesus experienced anger over the condition of the temple ministry when he flipped over the money changers tables and drove them out with a handmade whip (Lk. 19:45 – 46). He also experienced great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane to the extent that “he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Lk. 22:44).

So, Jesus experienced what we all experience in terms of the pains of growing up, along with the sheer weight of unbearable temptations, and deep seeded anger, along with a kind of depression, anxiety, and agony that caused his body to sweat blood.

In John’s Gospel we learn that Jesus is the eternal “Word [who] became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14) and in his humanity, in the flesh, he experienced exhaustion as he collapsed near Jacob’s well (4:6). He grieved deeply at the power of death over his friend Lazarus and the grief it caused his friends (11:35). He experienced what it is like to have a troubled and anxious soul as he wrestled with his unmet desires to be saved or rescued from his impending death (12:27). He also experienced the unquenchable thirst that came upon him in his final moments of life as he died on the cross when, in fulfillment of prophecy, he said, “I thirst” (19:28). Can you identify with some of what Jesus experienced in his humanity?

In Hebrews 2:14 – 18, we read that “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted”.

Once again, we learn here, that Jesus experienced the same things every human experiences from hunger to anxiety to temptation, so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our salvation and so that he could come alongside us by the power of his Spirit and help us when we experience the pain and struggles of living in this sin-soaked world.

Hebrews 5:7 – 8 also teaches us that, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered”. Jesus experienced exactly what we experience: namely that obedience is not perfected in easy circumstances. On the contrary, he and we, learn obedience through suffering, and he learned that obedience in prayer with “loud cries and tears”. Ever experienced this in your life? The pain of learning obedience through suffering? You are not alone!

In the book of 1 Peter, we learn that Jesus experienced suffering “leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” and rely on his sinless life where there was no deception, no vengeance, and no threatening in him as he suffered abuse at the hands of his enemies as he entrusted “himself to him who judges rightly” (1 Pet. 2:21 – 24). We also learn that Jesus experienced an unjust death so that the unrighteous could receive his righteousness as he also experienced the power of the resurrection (1 Pt. 3:18).

As I step back and survey the breadth and the depth of Jesus’ experience as a living, breathing human being, it kind of takes my breath away. It strikes me that Jesus’ experience was not unlike our own experience, with the exception that he was able to live it perfectly. But the question remains: How does this survey apply to our own identity?

APPLICATION…

I want to answer that question briefly before we conclude our time together today. Let me turn our attention back to the Bible, where we read in Hebrews 4:15, that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”. The bottom line here is this, when Paul refers to Jesus as “the son who was descended from David according to the flesh” in Romans 1:3, he has all of what we just studied in his mind; he has Jesus’ full human experience in his mind.

In case you are a little fuzzy, here is what Jesus experienced as he walked this earth in the flesh:

  • He resisted sin while living in a sinful world.
  • He bore the weight of the responsibility to be a shining example for others to follow.
  • He felt the horror of the effects of people’s sins on humanity.
  • He experienced the emotional wear and tear of fixing the problems caused by someone else’s sin.
  • He carried other people’s burdens so that they could become who they were meant to be.
  • His family was rumored to be dysfunctional, and he did have some very dysfunctional relatives in his family tree.
  • He experienced the struggle of ruling over his desires as he worked to live as a lawful citizen of this earth.
  • He experienced being humbled as he pursued the path of humility, thinking of himself less, and thinking of others more.
  • He experienced death and torture at the hands of his enemies.
  • He carried the weight of being the God who saves in the flesh.
  • He felt the emotional and physical wear and tear of being the mediator between two warring parties.
  • He felt the pressure and expectations of always being in the spotlight.
  • He felt the full spectrum of emotions as he was despised, rejected, full of sorrows, acquainted with grief, insignificance, stricken, smitten, afflicted, chastised, and wounded.
  • He experienced hunger, homelessness, deep sorrow, loneliness, complete forsakenness, growing pains, temptation, depression, anxiety, fear, agony, and anger.
  • He experienced the condescension from a perfect heaven to a sin-soaked earth, deep grief over the effects of death on his friends, anxiety, a troubled soul, unmet desires, and an unquenchable thirst.
  • He felt the pain and struggle of living in a broken world.
  • He experienced what it means to learn obedience through suffering and grief.
  • He experienced being the sacrificial scapegoat along with the responsibility of being an example of living without being deceptive, vengeful, or threatening as he suffered.
  • And finally, he experienced the full restorative effects of the power of the resurrection!

Jesus endured his human experience with complete devotion and rock-solid conviction. Why? How? Well, I think it has everything to do with the fact that he never lost sight of who he belonged to and who he was. He knew who owned him and he knew his identity. Paul gives us a little crumb about the identity of Jesus in his description of Jesus as the “Son… according to the flesh”. Whose Son was he? You see!! Jesus never lost sight – in his human experience – that he was the Son in whom his Heavenly Father was well pleased. Jesus was the Son of God!

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, that identity is what I believe held Jesus’ human feet on solid ground when his human experience what devastating. And the beauty of this truth for us is that we know that all that Christ was in his humanity, is ours by grace, through faith. I always say that when our Heavenly Father looks at those of us who belong to him, he only sees the perfection of Jesus in the mirror.

This is why I keep reminding us that “whom the Son sets free is free indeed” because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”! When you and I fail – and we often will – we must hold on to the truth, that in Christ we have his perfect identity woven into our very being. There is no room for shame, guilt, sin, worthlessness, anxiety, or depression to have a foothold in our lives. Those things might come to visit but they do not get take up residence within us.

In Christ, we have a great high priest who not only suffered in our place, but we have a Savior who gives us his perfection so that we can stand in perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father as the perfect sons and daughters of his enjoyment and great pleasure. And not only that, but we also have a great brother in Christ Jesus, who sympathizes with us in our struggles in this life because he is the Son according to the flesh!  – Amen!!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).